Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-12-09
TIE WELL OF BETHLEHEM,
Discourse by Rev. DR.. Talmage at the
Tabernacle.

BROOKLYN, Nov. 27.-This morning ut
the Tabernacle, after explaining appropri-
ate passages Of Scripture, the Rev. L. De
Witt Talmage, d. d., gave out the follow
ing hymn, that was sung by the congrega-
ton with great heartiness:
Buried in sorrow and i'll sin
At he1ls dark door we lay;
But we arise by grace divine,
To see glorious day.
The subject of the sermon was: "Thirst
in Cavern" and the text: ooh that one
of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!"-II.
Samuel xiii. Is.
War, always distressing, is especially
ruinous in harvest time. When the crops
are all ready for the sickle, to have them
trodden down by cavalry horses and heavy
supply trains outlying the fields is enough
to make any mans heart sick. When the
last great war broke out in Europe, and
France and Germany were coming into
horrid collision, rode across their golden
horvests and saw the tents pitched and the
trenches dug in the very midst of the ripe
fields, the long scythe of battle sharpening
to NOV down harvests of men in great win
rows of the dead. 1t was at this season of
harvest that the army of the Philistines
came down upon Bethlehem. Hank to the
clamor of their voices, the neighing of
their chargers, the blare of their trumpets,
and the clash of their shields!
Let David and his men fall back! The
Lords host sometimes loses the day. But
David knew where to hide. He had been
brought up in that country. Boys are in
quisitive, and they know all about the
region where they were born and brought
up. If you should go back to the old
homestead, you could with your own eyes
ol,,t G,,l To fIo
orchard, or the hill back of the house, with
which you were familiar thirty or forty
years ago. So David knew the cave of
Adullam. Perhaps, in his boyhood days,
he had played "hide and seek" with his COM
rades all about the old cave; and though
others might not have known it, David did.
Travellers say there is only one way of get
ting into the cave, and that is by very
narrow path; but David was stout, and
steady headed, and steady nerved; and so,
with his three brave staff officers, he goes
along that path, finds his way into the
cave, sits down, looks around at the roof
feels very weary with forced march, and
water he must have or die. do not know
but there may have been drops trickling
down the side of the cavern or that there
may have been some water in the goat
skin slung to his girdle, but that was not
what he wanted. He wanted deep, full,
cold drink, such as man gets only out of
an old we'll with moss covered bucket.
David remembered that very near that cave
of Adullam there was such we'll as that,
we'll to which he used to go in boyhood
the we'll of Bethlehem; and he almost
imagines that he can hear the liquid plash
of that we'll, and his parched tongue moves
through his hot lips as he says: ooh, that
one would give me drink Of the water of
the we'll of Bethlehem, which is by the
gate!"
It was no sooner said than done. The
three brave staff officers bound to their
feet and start. Brave soldiers will take
even hint from their commander. But
between them and the we'll lay the host of
the Philistines; and what could three men
do with great army? Yet where there is
ssshng this way they mahe thes
path to the we'll. While the Philistines
are amased at the seeming foolhardiness of
these three men, and cannot make up their
minds exactly what it means, the three
men have come to the we'll. They drop
the bucket. They bring up the water.
They pour it in the pail, and then start for
the cave. "Stop them!" cried the Phil
istines. "Clip them with swords! Stab
them with your spears! Stop those three
Mou! W Aale! Lucy nave Sot afounu
the hill. The hot rocks are splashed with
the overlooking water from the vessel as it
is carried up the cliffs. The three men go
along the dangerous path, and with cheeks
flushed with the excitement and all out of
breath in their haste they fling their
swords, red with the skirmish, to the side
of the cave, and cry out to David, "There,
captain of the host, is what you wanted,
drink of the we'll of Bethlehem, which is
by the gate"
A text il no use to me unless can find
Christ in it, and unless can bring Cos
pei out of these words, that will arouse,
never seen them; for your time would be
wasted, and against my soul the dark re-
cord would be made that this day stood
before great audience of SHINING, suffer-
ing and dying men, and told them of no
rescue. By the cross of the Son of God,
by the throne of the eternal judgment, that
shall not be! May the Lord Jesus help me
to tell you the truth to-day!
You know that carrier pigeons have
sometimes letters tied under thew ing, and
they fly hundreds of miles-lO0 miles an
hour-carrying message. So 1 have
thought l would Like to have it now. Oh,
day, to my soul and to the souls of this
people, some message of light, and love,
and peace!
1t is not an unusual thing to see people
gather around we'll in summertime. The
husbandman puts down his cradle at the
we'll curb. The builder puts down his
trowel. The traveller puts down his pack.
Then one draws the water for all the rest,
himself taking the very last. The cup is
passed a=euad, and the fires Of thirst are
put out; the traveller starts on his journey,
and the workman takes up his burden.
My friends, we come to-day around the
Gospel we'll. We put forth our pack or
burdens and our implements of toll. One
man must draw the water for those who
have gathered around the we'll. | will try
and draw the water to-day: and If, after |
have poured out from this living fountain
for your soul, just taste of it myself, you
will not begrudge me drink from the
water of the we'll of Bethlehem, which IS
by the gate"
This Gospel we'll, like the we'll spoken OF
in the text, is we'll of Bethlehem. David
had known hundreds Of wells of water, but
he wanted to drink from that particular
one, and he thought nothing could slake
his thirst like that. And unless your soul
and mine can get access to the fountain "a!
open for sin and uncleanness we must die:
That fountain is the we'll of Bethlehem. IL
NVSAp